With the Cannes Film Festival now postponing its 2020 edition in light of the global Covid-19 epidemic until late June at the earliest, and other major fests either cancelling or delaying in recent weeks, CPH:DOX has arguably led the way in adapting to the current situation.
Running from 18-29 March, the festival will present (almost) its entire programme for online viewing, as well as continuing with its industry programme. The main theme at CPH:DOX 2020 is dedicated to contemporary activism and to the social, political and cultural movements that shape – and change – the times we live in. The Copenhagen-based leading documentary film festival unveils its full line-up of competition titles with a record number of world premieres and a 50/50 gender representation that transcends the competition programmes.
Alongside live online talks and debates featuring the likes of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Edward Snowden and Marianne Vestergaard, notable films receiving either their world or European premieres include Kenneth Sorento’s The Fight for Greenland, Khalik Allah’s I Walk on Water, Barbara Kopple’s Desert One and Nancy Yang and Peter Raymont’s Margaret Atwood: A Word after a Word after a Word is Power.
The full list of competition titles:
DOX:AWARD
A Shape of Things to Come, JP Sniadecki & Lisa Marie Malloy, USA, world premiere
Bitter Love, Jerzy Sladkowski, Sweden, world premiere
Caught in the Net, Vit Klusak & Barbora Chulipová, Czech Republic, world premiere
Dick Johnson is Dead, Kirsten Johnson, USA, international premiere
The Dissident, Bryan Fogel, USA, international premiere
Ecstasy, Moara Passoni, Brazil, world premiere
Epicentro, Hubert Sauper, Austria, European premiere
I Walk on Water, Khalik Allah, USA, international premiere
The Fight for Greenland, Kenneth Sorento, Denmark/Greenland, world premiere
Long Live Love, Sine Skibsholt, Denmark, world premiere
No Kings, Emilia Mello, Brazil, world premiere
Mon Amour, David Teboul, France, world premiere
Oeconomia, Carmen Losmann, Germany, international premiere
Songs of Repression, E. Wagner & Marianne Hougen-Moraga, Denmark, world premiere
NEW:VISION
Ocean of Love, Alexa Karolinski & Ingo Niermann, Germany, world premiere
Welcome Palermo, Masbedo, Italy, international premiere
Mother’s Tongue, Wingyee Wu & Lap-See Lam, Sweden, world premiere (festival) (short)
Clay Theory, Amalie Smith, Denmark, world premiere (festival) (short)
Subject to Review, Theo Anthony, USA, European premiere (short)
The Undertaker, Yael Bartana, Israel, world premiere (festival) (short)
Beast Type Song, Sophia Al-Maria, Qatar, USA, world premiere (festival) (short)
Untitled Sequence of Gaps, Vika Kirchenbauer, Germany, international premiere
If Your Heart Wants It (Remix), Pilvi Takala, Finland, international premiere
LOLOLOL, Kurdwin Ayub, Austria, world premiere
Garage, Luis Ortega Govela & Olivia Erlanger, USA, Mexico, world premiere
Detour, Mario Valero, France, international premiere
The Seismic Form, Antoinette Swirchmayr, Austria, world premiere
South, Morgan Quaintance, UK, world premiere
F:ACT AWARD
Wood, Ebba Sinzinger, Monica Lazurean-Gorgan, Michaela Kirst, Austria, world premiere
Meet the Censors, Håvard Fossum, Norway, world premiere
Blasphemy, Mohamed Naqvi, Pakistan, world premiere
Ayouni, Yasmin Fedda, UK, Qatar, world premiere
Jozi Gold, Frederik Gertten, Sylvia Vollenhofer, Sweden, international premiere
Vivos, Ai Weiwei, Germany, European premiere
Dope is Death, Mia Donovan, Canada, European premiere
Only the Devil Lives Without Hope, Magnus Gertten, Sweden, world premiere
We Hold the Line, Marc Wiese, Germany, world premiere
The Social Dilemma, Jeff Orlowski, USA, international premiere
NORDIC:DOX
A Colombian Family, Tanja Wol Sørensen, Denmark, world premiere
Being Eriko, Jannik Splidsboel, Denmark, world premiere
Inside the Diamond, Viktor Johansson, Sweden, international premiere
Journey to Utopia, Erlend E. Mo, Denmark, world premiere
Maddy the Model, Jane Magnusson, Sweden, world premiere
Reunited, Mira Jargil, Denmark, world premiere
Show Dancer, Laurits Flensted-Jensen, Denmark, world premiere
Själö – Island of Souls, Lotte Petronella, Finland, world premiere
Television Without Frontiers, Andjeas Ejiksson, Sweden, international premiere
The Beautiful Game, Olof Berglind, Sweden, world premiere
The Beloved Daughter, Tiina Madisson, Finland, world premiere
We Are Here Now, Mariken Halle, Norway, international premiere
NEXT:WAVE
A New Beginning, Ala’A Mohsen, Denmark, world premiere
Areum Married, Areum Parkkang, South Korea, international premiere
Dear Joel, Thanasis Trouboukis, Greece, world premiere (short)
Errans, Mira Adoumier, Mira Adoumier, Lebanon, world premiere
Garage People, Natalija Yefimkina, Germany, world premiere
Mayor, David Osit, USA, international premiere
Mullah’s Daughter, Mahdieh adat Mirhabibi, Iran, UK, European premiere
Once Upon a Time in Venezuela, Anabel Rodriguez Rios, Austria, Venezuela, European premiere
Rendezvous, Ernst Skoog, Sweden, world premiere (short)
Retreat, Joeri Verbesselt, Belgium, world premiere (short)
Return to Epipo, Judit Oláh, Hungary, World Premiere
The Garden of Calabria, René Georg Johansen, Jacob Krzysztof Glogowski, Denmark, World Premiere (short)
The Republics, Huw Wahl, UK, World Premiere
The Soldier, Nikolaj Møller, Denmark, World Premiere
Trouble, Mariah Garnett, UK/US, International Premiere
Sisters with Transistors, Lisa Rovner, France, European Premiere
The 2020 digital edition of CPH:DOX runs from 18-29 March.
Daniel Green
